Counselor's Corner: What Does It mean to Cast Your Care on the Lord?

Cast your burden on the Lord, and He will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved.

Psalm 55:22

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

1 Peter 5:7

What exactly does it mean to cast your burden on the Lord?

Burdens make you feel heavy, weighted-down, and like you are the one who has to figure out how to solve the problem. When you feel burdened God promises that if you cast your care upon Him; He will sustain you.

→To cast means to throw something forcefully in a specified direction, or to throw off or away.

1.      Talk to God about your concerns. Be open and honest about what is concerning you or causing your anxiety. Don’t pretend you don’t have concerns and that everything is fine. Come before the Lord and tell Him.

2.      Sit quietly before God and allow Him the opportunity to speak to you about what is concerning you.

3.      Visualize yourself handing over to Jesus the person or situation that is concerning you. Ask God to take your concerns as you place them in His hands.

4.      Pray whatever is concerning you that God intervenes and that the plans of the enemy would come to a halt in the name of Jesus.

5.      Speak out loud scriptures daily over your life, and the situations that concern you.

6.      The most difficult part-after you have given your burdens to the Lord it is time to get up and keep moving. Don’t focus all day and night on what burdens you, if you constantly carry your burdens you will end-up physically, mentally and spiritually drained.

7.      Have a set time during the day, preferably first thing in the morning where you cast your burdens on the Lord and then leave it for the day. Sometimes, our burdens do crop up during the day even after giving them to the Lord. When this happens, don’t sit around and entertain all the possibilities of what could go wrong and what could happen. Stop and give your concerns back to the Lord. If you are undergoing difficult circumstances you may have to do this several times a day. The key to leaving your concerns with God is to not dwell, analyze and worry for hours a day. You could have intrusive thoughts that can be common if you have endured traumatic or difficult situations. The more you practice leaving your burdens with Jesus, the less intrusive thoughts you will have.

8.      The most important key in casting your burdens on the Lord is trusting God with His timing and His outcomes for what you are concerned about. Waiting patiently and expectedly that God has heard your cries and He will come through. As you are waiting on God, DON’T STEP IN AND TAKE OVER! If you get impatient as you wait for God to make a way, keep giving Him your burdens. Tell God, “I can’t carry _____________ (whatever your burden is) any longer, please take care of this for me.”

9.      Believe in your heart that God does care about you and your troubling situation. God’s Word says to cast your anxieties on Him because He cares for us.

10.  Humble yourself before God. Admit to God that you are not capable or strong enough to deal with your burdens.

11.  After casting your burdens on the Lord, you will be able to enter His rest and you will feel light and your load will not feel heavy any longer. The key to Divine rest and a light load is to not hold onto what is burdening you and not to doubt that God has heard your cries for help. Allow God to work, STEP OUT AND LET GOD STEP IN! Only then you experience God’s rest. There are some things that you have to let go of and let God take full control. It is okay to daily give your concerns to God until there is complete victory, and thank God for the victory that is coming.

→Be aware when you are feeling overly concerned in any area of your life, stop and pray immediately and ask God to intervene. You will know you are overly concerned when you are thinking constantly about a troubling situation, worrying, fretting, and figuring out what you can do to.

→Casting your burdens on the Lord usually is not a one-time event but can be daily if you have many burdens that you carry. The more you practice casting your burdens on the Lord, you may notice less tension, stress, and anxiety in your life.